Hayden Panettiere attends the LA premiere of ‘Blonde’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on Sept. 13, 2022, in Hollywood, California. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was present at the scene when she died, according to a police report obtained by ABC News.
Panettiere, known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, Remember the Titans and more, died on Sunday. She was 36.
In the police report from the Greenville City Police Department, an officer arrived on the scene on Easley Bridge Road in Greenville, South Carolina. The officer was responding to an EMS assist for an individual who was unresponsive.
“The patient did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive,” the officer wrote in the report.
“EMS attempted to perform life saving methods for an extended amount of time before they called a time of death. This was 1431 hours,” the report continued.
The officer then wrote in the report that they spoke with Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, who was also on scene, while EMS “was working on the patient.”
Zach Hickerson described Panettiere as his brother’s girlfriend.
“I observed Zach to be very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden,” the officer wrote. “Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased. Medic 24 and S4 were on scene performing life saving measures.”
The officer added in the report that Brian Hickerson showed them the bag of medication that Panettiere was taking.
Officials arrived on scene to assist in the investigation and the coroner was also on scene to conduct their investigation.
CCTV footage was requested from the scene and a supplemental report will be conducted, according to the report. The report added that the officer on scene also executed a search warrant.
It is unknown if Panettiere was using drugs or alcohol at the time of her death, according to the police report.
On Monday, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said in a press release that first responders and emergency medical services responded to a 911 call at the Greenville residence and found Panettiere “unresponsive” and in cardiac arrest. Responders “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures,” but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful” and the actress was “pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM,” officials said.
The coroner’s office said an autopsy was completed on Monday, and that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
Panettiere’s official cause and manner of death “remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies,” the coroner’s office added.
The release noted that Panettiere had been “temporarily staying” at the residence where she was found. The coroner’s office and Greenville City Police Department have since “initiated a parallel investigation” into her death, according to the release.
ABC News has reached out to Panettiere’s rep for a comment.
In previous reporting from ABC News, Panettiere had spoken out about Brian Hickerson’s alleged domestic abuse.
Panettiere told Good Morning America in a statement in 2020: “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.”
She added, “I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”
Brian Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in April 2021.
In court docs obtained by ABC News on Tuesday, a California judge denied Brian Hickerson’s request to reduce his prior domestic violence felony convictions.
Brian Hickerson petitioned the court to reduce his felony domestic violence convictions to misdemeanors and to expunge the case from his record. The request was denied on Aug. 13, 2026.
ABC News has reached out to a lawyer for Brian Hickerson for comment.
Panettiere and Hickerson started dating in the late summer of 2018, after she and then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko had split. Panettiere and Klitschko share a daughter, Kaya Klitschko.
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
Kristin Davis attends the ‘And Just Like That…’ season 3 photocall at Hotel Napoleon on May 29, 2025, in Paris, France. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) | Tig Notaro attends the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/WireImage via Getty Images)
Kristin Davis and Tig Notaro are joining the Emily Henry rom-com universe.
The actors have joined the cast of the film adaptation of the bestselling novel Beach Read, Deadline reports. They join Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor and The White Lotus‘ Patrick Schwarzenegger, who are set to star in the film, as well as Andie MacDowell and Kevin Bacon. Production will begin on the picture in June.
ABC Audio has reached out to 20th Century Studios for confirmation.
Beach Read follows the character January Andrews, a romance novelist who struggles with writer’s block due to her grief after the death of her father and her discovery of the secrets he kept.
January spends the summer at her father’s Michigan beach house as she prepares to sell it. While there, she reconnects with Gus Everett, a fellow author and her formal college rival. The pair spark an unexpected romance after they agree to partake in a writing challenge to get them out of their respective writing ruts.
Yulin Kuang, who co-wrote the Netflix film adaptation of Henry’s novel People We Meet on Vacation, will direct Beach Read for 20th Century Studios from her own script.
This is the latest adaptation of one of Henry’s works, following the release of People We Meet on Vacation in January. Three of her other novels — Book Lovers, Funny Story and Happy Place — are also currently being adapted for the screen.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and 20th Century Studios.
Nick Reiner appears with Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on February 23, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Chris Torres-Pool/Getty Images)
Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said on Tuesday.
If Nick Reiner is convicted of the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Reiner, the maximum sentence he would face is life without the possibility of parole, Hochman said.
Hochman said while deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty, the DA’s office examined the aggravating and mitigating factors and spoke to the victims’ family, prosecutors and law enforcement.
Nick Reiner’s siblings, Jake Reiner and Romy Reiner, made their views about the death penalty “very clear,” Hochman said, adding that the DA’s office took “their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.”
Nick Reiner, who turned 33 on Monday, is accused of fatally stabbing his parents in the family’s home in December. The night before the killings, Nick Reiner — who was living on his parents’ property and had previously struggled with addiction — got into an argument with his father at a holiday party and was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News at the time.
Nick Reiner is due in court on Tuesday for a hearing concerning the unsealing of the grand jury transcripts, Hochman said.
Jake Reiner and Romy Reiner expressed a “strong desire for these transcripts to remain sealed,” Hochman said.
The siblings “basically have said the disclosure to the public and media of the details and evidence of the killing of their parents will cause them additional trauma and harm,” the DA explained.
Hochman said prosecutors “have made it clear to the court that under the standards of whether or not unsealing the transcripts would prejudice the government’s investigation, or prejudice the right to a defendant’s fair and impartial trial, that we do not believe that unsealing the transcripts will cause such prejudice.”
“However, we have deferred to the court the decision on this ruling of whether or not the transcript should be unsealed,” he continued.
The indictment unsealed in August charged Nick Reiner with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait, according to prosecutors. He also faces a special allegation that he used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife. He pleaded not guilty.
Nick Reiner is held on no bond.
No trial date has been set. Hochman said on Tuesday that he believes a trial will not occur before 2027, adding, “when the defense is ready to proceed, the government will be ready to proceed.”
If Hochman had decided to pursue the death penalty, it would have been mostly a symbolic move. While California does have inmates on death row, there has not been an execution in the state in 20 years and Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019.
